Autism and Social Skills - An Introduction to the Autistic Perspective Webinar

This webinar is a collaboration between Kilkenny Education Centre, Co. Wexford Education Centre, Drumcondra Education Centre and Waterford Teachers' Centre.

This webinar will be an introduction to developing a neurodiversity-affirming approach to social skills. It will introduce participants to the emerging idea that children with Autism do not actually have deficits in social skills by looking at current research. Together, participants will explore what this means for traditional “social skills” training and the impact this sort of training has on children with Autism.

Evaleen Whelton

Evaleen Whelton is the founder of AUsome Training and Konfident Kidz. Evaleen is an award-winning Autistic educator, author and advocate. She has developed neurodiversity-affirming social programs for children and teens since 2014. Her recent book, Standing Up for Myself, is the first and only book recommended by Therapist Neurodiversity Collective as a perfect alternative to social skills training. Evaleen’s work centres on the rights of children with Autism to be themselves and draws on her expertise as a Speech and Drama Teacher of 20 years, as well as her experiences as a member of the Autistic Community.